yearbook club, cooking club, knitting club, kickball club

I agree run by principal (our was at PTA mtg- she was on the Exec board), the school actually did the fliers, advertising, scheduling, etc (school program coord's job), hour long classes, PTA parents, teachers and 2 or 3 outside sources taught classes, usually 8 wks long, 1 day per week. Prices varied.

Poll parents, kids, etc to see what they like or find programs that enhance the curriculum but are fun (and educational just dont tell the students that )

find out what areas of testing the school is lacking in (ie Math- do a math club, chess, lego building; something to enhance math and critical thinking skills (but again fun); (ie Science- gardening or Enivir Science type classes - or Kid Concoctionish (sp?)

I agree with dlf be firm with the authorization and pickup times.

Ours have been really fun

Hi Misty--we usually clear the concept with the principal. Send home fliers for sign ups with a deadline and then have the children meet either before or after school. They are still on school grounds so in our instance they are covered by insurance through the school and when time comes for pick up the parents are expected to be there. They must also send in a note to the school authorizing their child to stay late. It really isn't too difficult and usually we have to stand firm on our limits because so many children sign up. d

Question: How did you start the clubs? Did you pay someone to oversee the afterschool program? It sounds like you ran it through the PTO, are there any legal, and or insurance issues that we should consider in setting up our program? Any advice or thoughts that anyone of you with experience could offer us would be greatly appreciated.

About 21st Century Learning Grants, state agencies receive federal funds to award to programs in their states. To find the list of who to contact in your state, go to: www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/contacts.html#state .

Our PTO had intended to apply for funds this school year to help fund our first afterschool program. There is a monumental amount of preparation invovled in writing the grant AND it's a full-time job to comply with all of the requirements once the grant is funded. So, instead, we decided to get the program running on a smaller scale and fund it with program fees.

We offered homework club followed by an afterschool club 3 days a week for 12 weeks. Students chose from a variety of clubs including dance, Spanish, sign language, beading, sports & games, woodworking, arts & crafts, yearbook, and more. We charged $10 for a four week session. We relied on donated materials and volunteers to run most of the clubs. When we brought in "experts" for the dance and the Spanish club, we were able to pay them their going rate with the fee $ we had accumulated.

To find "experts" we contacted middle and high school foreign language teachers who might want a little extra income afterschool to teach a Very basic intro class.

I found some information on that 21st century grant at ed.gov but could not find the specifics of eligibility. Did the PTO receive this or the school itself? For those of you who have started after-school activities for foreign language, how is this set up? Is it basically an instructional course? I would like to get some foreign language education in our small school but I'm doubting anyone thinks it is necessary. Are there other grants specifically for this that anyone knows about? I'm not sure how to push this issue but many schools in our state are making this a part of daily class. If there's no time for it there then I would really like to see it optional after school.